The Ofek 10 was launched from the Palmahim air base, south of Tel Aviv.
The satellite, as was the case for the other carriers of the Ofek family, was put into orbit by a Shavit rocket, successor to Jericho II, which performed a retrograde orbit beyond the Mediterranean Sea. This common practice is to preserve the integrity of the load from possible attacks by hostile Israel nations.
The satellite is able to take pictures at any time and in any weather condition. For surveillance and reconnaissance from space, Israel has six satellites.
Ofeks (Hebrew word for "horizon") were developed by Israel Aircraft Industries. According to what is learned from the Israeli press, the main purpose of the satellites put into orbit is to spy on Iran, which with its nuclear program is seen as the number one enemy and the main threat to the security of Tel Aviv.
The Ofeks, as well as the satellites that operate in the Low Earth Orbit (low earth orbit) have a period of revolution of about 90 minutes, with an average speed of 27400 km / h.
In addition to the coverage formed by the OFEK, from the 2008 Israel has also in orbit Polaris (TecSar), a spy satellite equipped with synthetic aperture radar and with a resolution of 10 centimeters.
Franco Iacch
(photo: IAI)
